Wandering Sword Seller's Life in the Qin Dynasty

You never really know if their reputation is good or bad.

The Luo Wang organization has committed numerous despicable acts, including double-dealing and betrayal, yet it still attracts many people to join. Whether through coercion or enticement, these people are willing to work for the Luo Wang organization not only because of its strict internal order, but also because the Luo Wang organization offers them substantial benefits.

The day after Xu Qing and Jing Ni met for the third time.

The middle-aged man found Xu Qing again and took him to a house.

"The materials you requested are all there."

After saying that, he asked Xu Qing, "Do you need us to help you find a workshop to forge swords?"

"No need for that, I have my own way." Xu Qing smiled mysteriously.

The middle-aged man raised an eyebrow imperceptibly.

The young man before him was a talent specifically chosen by "that person." His position was limited; though responsible for persuasion, he had no real authority. After all, he was merely a low-ranking disciple of a renowned family, relying on his silver tongue, and utterly powerless. Joining the Luo Wang was simply a way to secure a place to live in this treacherous world.

Fortune and wealth are often sought amidst danger, and sometimes they seem more tempting than a life destined for poverty and hardship.

After seeing the middle-aged man off, Xu Qing lingered in the room, waiting silently for a long time while observing her surroundings.

The system's strange ability was revealed when it was trying to determine if anyone from the Luo Wang organization was watching them.

"Recycle!"

With a thought, an invisible wave swept across the room, and in an instant, all the rare materials and black iron ore piled up in the corner of the room disappeared without a trace.

"The Net is truly extravagant." Xu Qing's consciousness sank into the system space, examining the valuable materials, and muttered to himself.

A few insincere words of "adult" yielded such tangible benefits; this deal is definitely worthwhile.

They left this place with the materials they had taken back to the system space.

After returning to the inn, Xu Qing did not look for any workshop to forge swords.

He was the swordsmith of this era.

As a non-mainstream swordsmith, he only needs to find the corresponding materials, exchange reputation for attributes, and exchange them for enchanting materials. Then, he can directly enter the system space and easily forge swords in the furnace of the system's swordsmithing workshop. In other words, he can forge swords anytime, anywhere.

"Let's get started! Let's get started!"

During this period, Xu Qing kept selling swords in Xinling. In addition, he was being watched by Luo Wang, and some swords were suspected of falling into Luo Wang's hands. Xu Qing's reputation was constantly increasing, and the person who increased his reputation the most was Jing Ke.

As a retainer of Lord Xinling, Jing Ke conversed and sparred with other established retainers. His strength and the "Broken Mountain" sword in his hand gradually became known to them. It should be noted that those who could become retainers of Lord Xinling were already famous figures throughout the land. Not to mention, Lord Xinling himself, who was renowned throughout the land, also knew about Jing Ke's sword.

prestige?

What is reputation?

The more people know about you, the more famous you become, which in itself is a form of prestige.

On the contrary, the two men Xu Qing had placed high hopes on did not provide Xu Qing with much prestige.

This is not surprising. First, he only sold the swords of excellent quality to the two masters. Second, these two have not yet officially graduated. They came to Xinling earlier only because of a trial in Guigu. After completing the trial, they returned to Guigu.

It wasn't until several years later that they truly became famous.

At that time, Gai Nie became the chief swordsmanship instructor of the Qin state, while Wei Zhuang established the Quicksand organization in the Han state.

Xu Qing focused his mind and operated continuously in the system's furnace space. He first melted and forged materials, and then used reputation to purchase "traits". The reputation points he had accumulated during this period were enough for him to upgrade a "special" trait he had previously obtained to the third level, which was also the trait corresponding to the "famous sword" level.

After Xu Qing verified it, he discovered that rare traits, once upgraded to the corresponding level, have a higher probability of being used to forge famous swords.

More common characteristics such as "toughness" and "sharpness" are unlikely to make a sword a famous sword unless it is exceptionally well-made.

After all, a famous sword must first become famous.

So what kind of sword is most likely to become famous?

It's a rather special sword, of course.

Swords, like those that are sharp and tough, are generally forged according to these requirements. Unless you can surpass 99% of swords, relying solely on these two characteristics will not make it a famous sword; at most, it will only be classified as a fine-quality sword.

This time, Xu Qing's upgraded rare trait is called "Qi Condensation". Swords forged with this trait are invisible when dispersed, but become swords when gathered with Qi.

In other words, a sword forged by combining it with certain special materials may appear to be just an ordinary object in normal circumstances, but as long as internal energy is injected into it, it can condense into a sword of qi.

When Xu Qing saw the description of this feature that day, he thought of the "Han Guang Sword" in the original novel. That sword was undeniably amazing and full of unique features.

After all, other swords either conceal their sharpness or reveal it fully.

Han Guang, on the other hand, is completely invisible.

Normally, it only has a sword hilt, but when necessary, it can transform into a sword of energy.

In Yan Lu's hands, that sword was said to be a "50/50" sword, and he was known as the master of draws.

But in the hands of the nameless man, that sword truly displayed immense destructive power.

Among the many materials provided by the Net, there is a special kind of stone.

Called the "Shadowless Stone," this stone is invisible in low light conditions, only becoming visible under extremely intense light. Xu Qing wanted to use it to see if he could forge a sword similar to Kong Zhou's Shadowless Sword.

This kind of sword is actually the most suitable for assassins to use for assassination.

After completing a lot of work.

Xu Qing then began designing the sword's shape.

"The most important thing is to make it small!" Xu Qing pondered. "Since it has the wonderful use of condensing qi into a sword, why should the sword itself be bulky? Moreover, since the material is Shadow Stone, it should be even more exquisite."

"Imitating the story of fish intestines hidden in the belly?" The thought had just crossed his mind when he dismissed it. "No! If it's about condensing qi into a sword... why does the supporting object... have to be in the shape of a 'sword'?!"

A sudden flash of inspiration! The shackles of thought were suddenly broken!

“That’s right! It can be a hairpin, a jade pendant, a letter, or any seemingly ordinary little trinket… Only when infused with internal energy and filled with killing intent does it unleash its unparalleled sharpness and condense into a blade!” Xu Qing’s eyes flashed with brilliance. Once his mind was clear, countless ingenious and wonderful ideas emerged like a spring.

Time flows silently by.

With ample materials, a stellar reputation, and Xu Qing's consistently good luck, the company was well-positioned to succeed.

Finally, the light in the furnace gradually faded, and a brand-new sword, embodying stealth, agility, and unpredictability, was born.

Its name is Feiying!

Chapter 14 The Jade Pendant Conceals Its Sharpness, the Startling Salamander Appears Silently

Among countless ideas, Xu Qing finally chose the shape of a jade pendant.

This rectangular jade pendant, shaped like a jade talisman, is translucent and lustrous, seemingly a top-grade jade. However, once internal energy is injected, a short and condensed blade of energy silently extends from the edge of the pendant in an instant. What's even more remarkable is that its "condensed energy" property allows the blade of energy to remain intact for a moment after the internal energy is interrupted, rather than immediately dissipating.

This is a true sword, not the fleeting "gathering energy into a blade" technique of Star Soul.

"As expected of me!" Xu Qing played with the jade pendant, releasing a slight burst of internal energy.

"Om-"

Under the blazing sun, the edge of the air blade only reflects a faint, barely perceptible shadow; in the dark, it completely vanishes into nothingness!

The properties of the Shadow Stone have been perfectly inherited.

Deception is everywhere one looks.

With a casual wave of his hand, Xu Qing caused the corner of the desk to crack silently, the break as smooth as a mirror.

"It does have flaws."

"After all, it is just an air blade. Although it perfectly combines the Shadow Concealing Stone and the Qi Condensation, the biggest feature of this sword is that it can gather Qi into a blade and hide in the shadows. It is known for its unpredictability and is less sharp than a normal sword."

“Apart from that, it’s a bit short.”

Overall, this is a sword similar to Kong Zhou's three swords, but smaller and slightly inferior.

That's not surprising.

Kong Zhou's three swords have long been renowned. Even the lowest grade, "Xiao Lian," besides being invisible, possesses the extraordinary ability to "fight without bloodshed, kill without staining the blade." You can feel it slicing across your body, yet blood hardly stains its edge. The middle grade, "Cheng Ying," has an even greater effect, like a gentle breeze caressing the body, with only the sound of skin tearing indicating the injury. As for the highest grade, "Han Guang," it reaches the sublime state of "invisible to the eye, imperceptible to the touch, its touch is boundless, passing through objects without their awareness."

Xu Qing's swordsmanship is slightly inferior to Kong Zhou's in this respect.

Therefore, although it was among the famous swords, it was ultimately difficult for it to be passed down through generations.

Even so.

Xu Qing was also very satisfied.

After all, it is yet another "famous sword". With the forging of this sword, his experience has increased significantly. As long as he can continue to forge famous swords and raise his "swordsmith" level, sooner or later he will be able to forge swords comparable to, or even surpassing, the three swords of Kong Zhou.

After all, a famous swordsmith can forge more than just one famous sword in his lifetime.

In the days that followed, Xu Qing started the furnace one after another.

Unfortunately, the famous sword "Flying Shadow" seems to have run out of luck, and no new works have been produced since.

However, there were more than ten swords of "excellent" and "inferior" quality. In the art of sword making, even a second-level swordsmith cannot guarantee that every batch will be a masterpiece. Differences in materials and the ups and downs of luck are all within reach.

The drawbacks of joining the snare have not yet become apparent.

But the benefits are already undeniable.

Thanks to the materials obtained from the Luo Wang, Xu Qing's depleted inventory was replenished in a short period of time.

However, he did not continue to sell swords on the city wall of Ningyi as before.

Instead, they went straight to Luo Wang.

He saw his online friend "Jing Ni" again. Just like before, she was wearing a large black robe and a mask, and her voice was disguised so that it was impossible to tell if she was male or female.

"What's the matter?"

She asked Xu Qing concisely.

"Great news!"

Xu Qing also didn't waste any more words.

"With your help, I no longer need to rack my brains to find materials. During this time, I used your materials to open the furnace and forge twelve swords, including one superior-grade sword, eight mid-grade swords, and three inferior-grade swords!"

For Xu Qing at this stage, there is no need to go to great lengths to find the sword master.

Within the Net of Swords, there are simply too many suitable sword masters.

After keeping some of the finest swords, Xu Qing planned to sell all the swords he had forged to Luo Wang in one go.

Including the "famous sword" Flying Shadow that he forged.

Although that sword was strange, Xu Qing could replicate it in an instant, or even surpass the current one, as long as he had enough materials and enough reputation.